Did the Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner use AI to write?

The esteemed Commonwealth Short Story Prize of 2026 has become embroiled in ‘the’ literary scandal of our time owing to allegations of having been authored by artificial intelligence.

Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner used AI to write: Report

Just days after the stories of regional winners had been posted on the website, discerning readers began to notice oddities in The Serpent in the Grove, penned by Jamir Nazir, a novelist from Trinidad. The story of a couple in a failing relationship was littered with hallmarks of AI writing, such as the use of the “not X, but Y” pattern. It is reported that Jamir’s work tested as wholly machine-authoured using the AI detection tool Pangram.

This is not where the matter ends, however. Other regional prize-winning entries, written by John Edward DeMicoli and Sharon Aruparayil, have also tested positive for AI authourship.

In response to the outrage, the Commonwealth Foundation and the magazine publishing the stories have adopted a cautious approach. Razmi Farook, the Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation, explained that his organisation works on the basis of trust and that they do not use AI checkers for unpublished manuscripts because of the issues of artistic ownership. According to Razmi, all the shortlisted writers have assured him that there was no involvement of any artificial intelligence during their work.

On the other hand, Sigrid Rausing, the publisher, expressed regret at having possibly awarded the prize to an example of plagiarism committed by AI. Sigrid revealed that she and her team had run the story through an AI checker but got inconclusive results. Until a conclusive result is obtained, the controversial stories will continue being available online, making readers speculate about whether the future of literature is already compromised by machines.

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